NY Towers The Chrysler, 1 & 3 Rean Dr: Hydro and Parking in the Fee

The Chrysler is one of very few buildings in North York where the maintenance fee covers your hydro as well as heat, air conditioning and parking. That makes the fee look high and the monthly cost of living look low, and buyers who only compare fee numbers usually get it wrong. It is a 2003 building, so age matters as much as price. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

One of the first buildings in the NY Towers community

Daniels built the NY Towers community on the land behind Bayview Village Shopping Centre over roughly a decade. Daniels’ own description of the community says it grew to more than 3,000 homes and over 5,000 residents. The Chrysler and its neighbour The Waldorf, both registered in February 2003, were among the earliest buildings to finish.

The New York names were the marketing theme across the community: The Chrysler, The Waldorf, Empire and later NY Place and NY2. They are a branding choice rather than a description of the architecture, and I could not confirm the architect of this building from a reliable source.

With 672 suites under one corporation and two addresses, The Chrysler is a large building by any measure. That scale spreads the cost of staff and big repairs across many owners, but it also means busy elevators at peak times and a lobby that rarely feels quiet.

The fee that covers almost everything

Condos.ca lists common elements, heat, air conditioning, hydro, building insurance, parking and water as included. Hydro is the unusual item. Most buildings of this age in North York have moved to individual suite meters, or never had bulk hydro to begin with.

That is why the fee looks heavy, at about $1.10 per square foot on the current listings, with monthly fees from about $728 to $1,330. Compare it with Empire at NY Towers down the street, around $0.93 per square foot with parking but without hydro, and the gap is roughly what a suite would pay for electricity.

The other side of bulk hydro is that everyone pays for everyone’s usage. A neighbour who runs the air conditioning all summer is on your bill too. Ask the corporation whether it has studied sub-metering, because a change like that would move costs from the fee onto your own hydro bill.

Older layouts, bigger rooms

Condos.ca puts suites at about 587 to 2,117 square feet. The active listings tell you what this building is really made of: one-bedroom-plus-dens in the 600s and 700s, larger two-bedroom-plus-dens, and three-bedroom suites at the top of the range. One listing was a one-bedroom-plus-two-den plan, a format you rarely see in newer towers.

In my experience, suites from this era tend to have fewer wasted corridors and more usable rooms than a newer tower of the same size, but that varies plan by plan. I could not confirm ceiling heights, so check the floor plan for the suite you are viewing.

Condition varies widely after 20-plus years. Some suites still have original kitchens and bathrooms; others have been fully renovated. Price the renovation before you compare one suite with another.

Buying and selling in a 672-suite building

A building this size always has something on the market, and that is good for buyers. When I checked, five suites were for sale and only one was for lease, which tells me most suites here are lived in by their owners or held long term rather than churned as rentals.

For a seller, the same scale means competition. There is usually a similar suite a few floors up, so condition and price decide who sells first. Renovated suites with a clear view and a parking space attached tend to move; tired original suites priced like renovated ones sit.

It also means comparables are easy to find. When I value a suite here, I can usually match it against several recent sales of a similar size and layout in the same building, which is not true of the smaller boutique buildings nearby. If you want to know what a particular suite should sell for, that is the conversation to have before you list or make an offer.

Living behind Bayview Village

The location is the reason most owners chose the community. Bayview Village Shopping Centre is a short walk away for groceries and daily errands, and Daniels’ community description points to the TTC and quick access to Highways 401 and 404 and the Don Valley Parkway.

Rean Drive is an inner street lined with other Daniels buildings, so the address is quieter than living on Sheppard itself. The data panel on this page shows the subway, schools and parks nearby.

Low price per square foot, high fee per square foot

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $671 per square foot, which is low for a high-rise this close to Bayview Village. Age is the main reason: buyers pay more for newer towers along Sheppard, and they discount older suites that need work.

The five suites for sale when I checked were asking from $538,888 to $748,800. Before you compare those numbers with a newer building, take out what you would spend on hydro and parking elsewhere. A fee that covers both can make the total monthly cost here competitive even when the fee alone looks high.

The question is the reserve fund. A 672-suite building with a large garage and original systems from 2003 has real repairs ahead of it, and a low price per square foot is only good value if the reserve fund is ready for them.

Building specifications

Amenities at NY Towers The Chrysler

Condos.ca lists a concierge, a sauna, a party room, a meeting room, visitor parking and an underground garage. The package is practical rather than resort-like; the value of this building is in the fee inclusions and the location, not the amenity floor.

Jatin’s honest take on NY Towers The Chrysler

NY Towers The Chrysler — frequently asked questions

Looking at Willowdale, Yonge & Sheppard, Bayview Village and North York Centre more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.